Learning is not an optional activity throughout our lives. It’s a necessary part of our daily living and survival. No matter how much someone may dispel the idea of ‘book smarts,’ they likely have wisdom and knowledge in other areas. This is why it’s so hard to put a real value or definition on what intelligence is, and of course, without wisdom, intelligence is often rarely utilized well. Additionally, there’s almost nothing we like less than a know-it-all who has to show their intellectual dominance at every moment.
But when it comes to yourself, you may not have had that spark of learning kindle in you as it might. You may not have had a great time in school, or have focused on a college course that didn’t inspire you as much as you had imagined. This can leave you somewhat burnt out on the idea of academia or becoming an auto-didact when really, all you need is to find the most conducive learning format that works with you.
In the following article, we hope to help you achieve this. Who knows? This advice could help you move into opportunities you had never thought possible.
Find Your Learning Style
There are many types of learner, all of them relevant, and all can find their style should they seek it. But first, you have to consider what is most helpful to you. Do you enjoy seeing something visually? Hearing about it through an auditory format, such as through express verbal instruction or in the form of an audiobook or podcast? How about reading or writing about something? Or touching and interacting with something, such as a fitted physical diagram of human anatomy?
Well, you might think that this is an odd way to differentiate things. But these are actually the categories that are used by researchers and scientists to describe the learning process, and to show how certain people are optimized to think and learn in different ways. They are named visual, auditory, reading/writing and kinesthetic, respectively. Odds are you may know this. But it can be hard to note which one you best conform to.
However, remember that this is not like choosing a sports team. You are likely variously impacted by all of them. It’s not as if a reader simply cannot respond to verbal instruction. It’s about finding what works best for you and trying to apply that the most prominently. It can take some experimentation, but doing so can be truly worth it.
Craft Your Best Learning Environment
Of course, if attending a university or school course, you cannot choose where you go to learn it for the most part, at least once you have enrolled. You will be in a lecture theatre, in a school or a place of work/placement. This means that crafting the variables of your own learning environment in these conditions will be virtually impossible, but this can help texture you regardless.
However, when at home, finding your most conducive learning format can be a worthwhile and often quite striking difference. It might be that setting up your own desk, your ergonomic computer placement, the best keyboard to type on, organizing your desktop into folders that make sense and also purchasing a supportive chair can help you learn well. Noise cancellation earphones can also help you absorb yourself into your work while listening to whale noises, or resources like Rainymood can help you focus. This is because white noise is proven to aid in concentration and focus.
We would also recommend curating a worthwhile place for you to read, perhaps not too comfortable so you feel drowsy, but not too upright you so feel uncomfortable. A place to write notes such as a side desk can also be a worthwhile means of scouring through textbooks or novels and making the notes you need to craft to refer back on your progress.
Speak To Your Tutors
From time to time, we can struggle in our studies. This shouldn’t make you feel as though you are a lost cause, although many students can, unfortunately, begin to gain that impression. Everyone struggles in regards to certain things, and what some find easy others may find harder to deal with. There’s nothing wrong with this.
But there is something wrong with ignoring it, and burying your head in the sand. Speak to your tutors, or find private tutors to help you through this part. With enough perseverance and framing the problem in a different way, or in simply asking for additional resources, you can be sure to keep on top of things.
Do Something Every Day
When we think of our education, we can see an unsightly mountain that we have to climb. Just think of how daunted medical or law students feel when they are about to begin that years-long process. At the end of it they will not be the same person that they are now, and that’s for the better. Even if pursuing your course in the best place, such as the Texas Woman’s University Online you may feel this way.
But the trick is to do something every day in regards to your educational goals. It might be twenty minutes of reading, it might be attacking that large assignment. It might be working on resolving errors you made during the previous day of your placement, or it might be opting for a volunteer extra course for additional credit. Of course, Taking a day off each week (if plausible) can be a great means to stop yourself from getting burned out, but also a little bit of progress made where appropriate can help you climb that mountain, step by step.
After all, you can only ever climb Mount Everest one step at a time.
Make Your Needs Known
When you learn, you are also likely in a social environment or are perhaps surrounded by those in your personal life. Degrees, online courses and many other forms of education require discipline on behalf of the person hoping to make it through. This means that making your needs known is an important part of committing to your studies.
If you find that your friends are becoming annoyed that you rarely hang out as much anymore, or that you are worried about an upcoming test and show no sign of support, or you find that you are struggling to get any time to sit down and make any real progress – it’s time to make changes. Simply making your needs known, assigning more time out of the day to give yourself a chance to breathe. When you have your needs known, you are able to develop a more confident and comfortable approach going forward. More than that though, you give yourself time to relax into your education. It’s hard to study when you’re fraught and worried about how much work you’re doing and instead get time to focus on the task at hand.
Love To Learn
It can be easy to pathologize any requirement placed upon you, and a course may have many requirements. Remember, this is not a trial, although it can be a challenge. It is not a chore, although you may have to focus on subjects you aren’t particularly fond of. Try to see the fun in learning and your subject. Try to fall in love with it. It’s in this way that you can actually enjoy the progress you’re making. Because if you dislike your course now, why would you seek a career in this field?
With this advice, we hope you can find your most conducive learning format.